Food for Thought with a little bit of Salt
by Sparkling Grimm
Summary: Kim finds a new way to capture akumas, much to his friends' horror. (Season 3 Spoilers; Light Lukanette; Third Person, Semi-Omniscient)


"It's just that Alya is seriously pissed." Nino lowered his pen again. "It wasn't just that I lied to her, dudes. It's that I had the three of you and all the other boys lie too. Then there was the disaster at the museum."

"What happened at the museum?" Ivan asked.

"Adrien was asked to go get his model repaired." Nino shrugged. "I got invited to go with him, but I was with Alya and she wanted Marinette to come too. Let's just say, no one liked the outcome."

"What did you do wrong?" Kim tried to balance his pencil on the tip of his nose. He failed.

Max snatched it away before he could try again. "Nino? You were saying?"

"Nothing really. I mean, I didn't do anything wrong there, and Alya admits that. But, she's still upset because Marinette is hurting." Nino sighed and stood up to stretch. "And she's been so much more sensitive to that since she let Marinette get pushed to the back of the classroom by herself for Lila's return. I mean, I don't know if you guys have noticed, but ever since then, Marinette's been acting kinda crazy. It's like she lost a lot of trust in everybody and everything."

"Honestly, I hadn't noticed a thing." Kim replied.

Max nodded. "Marinette has always been a little high-strung, but very sweet."

"She let Chole convince her that picking on Kagami was a good idea." Nino told the boys rather flatly. "And did it again, without the benefit of Chloe's input."

The three of them traded shocked looks. Max found his voice first, "Did Kagami do anything to her?"

"Dude, no. Kagami didn't do a thing."

"That doesn't sound like Marinette at all." Ivan frowned.

"Yeah, I know." Nino shrugged again. "That's what's worrying Alya. She thinks Marinette feels subconsciously screwed by the rest of us, and the universe as a whole, so she's no longer considering anyone else. And dudes, it sucks to lose our Everyday Ladybug, but it would suck even more if someone didn't save her. You know?"

"Absolutely, but," Max shook his head. "I don't understand why Alya is taking that out on you."

"Because she's upset, and I lied to her, and I had you guys lie to everyone else." Nino scuffed his sneaker against the carpeted floor of Max's living room. Then he looked back up at his friends and breathed in sharply, "And I'm worried that I can't fix it this time, because I can't save Marinette."

"Nino, I know you're upset, but," Ivan pushed his own work away and stood up to comfort his friend. Something caught his eye. He yanked Nino back around the table. "You're too upset! You need to calm down!"

"Huh?" Nino followed Ivan's unwavering gaze to an inbound akuma. "NO!"

Max and Kim struggled to their feet. The akuma started to squeeze through the closed french doors.

"Don't let it touch anything!" Max screeched. "If it touches anything of Nino's or anyone else's, we'll all be in trouble!"

"Any Thing!?" Kim shot his best friend a grin. Giving Ladybug back the Monkey Miraculous had been the worst, but here was another chance to play hero. "Max, you're a genius!"

"Kim, No! I hate that look! Whatever it is," But even as Max spoke, Kim pulled Nino out of Ivan's arms and held him out to the akuma.

Nino screamed as the akuma popped out from the doors and dove for him. At the last moment, Kim threw Nino to the side. Then he darted forward and closed his mouth around the akuma.

His friends stared in horror, waiting.

Kim turned to them, still smirking, "Mm hmmt et!"

"Oh no." Max whimpered. "He caught it."

* * *

"It's not really his fault." Alya shook her head. "I'm just,"

"Worried about things beyond your control?" Alix demanded, twirling her pencil. "I mean, I wanted Adrien and Marinette to happen as much as the next person, but at some point, something had to give. Marinette will get over it."

"Marinette will get over what?" Luka asked. Startled, all three girls looked up to find him standing behind the kitchen counter. He held a bag of microwavable popcorn and wore a concerned expression. "Is she okay?"

"No, she's been acting weird lately and kind of cruel. Even to people who don't deserve it." Alya shook her head.

Luka put on the popcorn without speaking. When it finished, he brought it over to the girls. "Is there any way I can help?"

"Not unless you can heal a lot of heartbreak." Alya sighed.

Luka smiled at her softly, but didn't respond. Instead, he headed back toward the deck, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He stopped just outside the door and frowned in the direction of the gangway. "Ivan? Nino? Is everything okay?"

"Is Alya here!? We need to talk to her right away!" Demanded a frantic voice.

Luka glanced back toward the girls before nodding,"She is."

Alya looked to Alix and Juleka before all three of them abandoned their work, rushing to see what was wrong.

Max moved to intercept them. "Alya, you know the most out of all of us about akumas."

"Really hoping that's not relevant to whatever's going on with Kim." Alix cut him off, looking behind him to where Nino and Ivan stood on the deck holding Kim between them. He put a hand to his mouth and sucked on something.

"Yeaaah, he caught it." Nino nodded.

Ivan shifted nervously. "What do we do?"

"I'll get a jar." Luka started back toward the kitchen.

"No!" Several of them shouted at him and Juleka grabbed his arm. He whirled back to face them.

"It akumatizes objects, dude." Nino shook his head. "That's why Kim ate it."

"Technically, he hasn't swallowed it." Max corrected.

"What do we do?" Juleka mumbled.

"We need someone who can contact Ladybug." Luka replied. He looked back down at his phone.

Alya cut off his next thought, "Luka, that's brilliant!"

She sprinted around him to go get her own phone. She returned, texting the only person she thought might be able to reach Ladybug. "Alright, Kim! Help is on the way, you just need to hold on a little longer."

"Hmmrrr!"

"Was that Hurray or hurry?" Alix snickered.

"HMR-RRR!"

* * *

Adrien sat in a literal hell that had been carefully disguised as his school's library. On his right, Chloe couldn't open her mouth without bragging. On his left, Lila couldn't open her mouth with lying, mostly to brag. And worst of all, Marinette sat across from him and hadn't opened her mouth except to quietly ask which part of their group assignment was hers.

She also wouldn't look at him, which hurt more than he thought it would.

He sighed. The museum visit to fix his arm had been an actual train wreck, with the car ride home being the fiery, crunching, final stop. And now, they were left were this horrifying trench as a reminder of what had gone wrong between them.

Which, to be honest, Adrien wasn't even sure what that was. She had started to open up to him, then suddenly, and just as quickly, she'd shut down again, this time all the way. He wanted to talk to her about it, but she'd steadfastly avoided him ever since.

Marinette's phone chimed a simple, little guitar melody.

"Seriously, Marinette?" Chloe rolled her eyes, "We're supposed to be working on a project, this is not the time for personal texts."

Marinette, somewhat defiantly, scooped up her phone and flicked it on. Whatever she read brought her hand to her lips and a soft smile to her face. She looked up at Adrien for the first time since the two of them had started working. She opened her mouth, shook her head, and closed it again.

"Oh, Marinette, is that the boyfriend you were telling me about?" Lila asked sweetly, leaning toward Adrien to face her.

"No. Right now, he's just a friend." Marinette put her phone face down on the table. "A very good friend."

"Luka?" Adrien asked.

Marinette cut her eyes to him and nodded, the smile creeping back in. For some reason, that made his stomach clench in an uncomfortable way.

"Who is Luka?" Chloe demanded.

"Oh, have you not met him yet?" Lila flicked one of her short ponytails behind her shoulder to rest her chin on her palm. "I thought everyone had. He's really very sweet. We hang out a lot."

Adrien turned on her, but thought better of it at the last second. Instead, he smiled, "Sorry, Lila, I had no idea you knew Luka. How do you like his new dye job?"

"I think it looks fantastic."

"Me too. Pink suits him almost as much as it does his sister."

"Definitely. He's so supportive of Rose that way." Lila nodded.

Marinette flicked her eyes once more to Adrien. He winked in return. Chloe glared at them, but Lila quickly amended, "I mean Mylene."

"Right." Adrien agreed.

Lila's eyes darkened, but before she could dig that particular hole any deeper, Marinette's phone chimed again with the same short guitar solo. She looked at it, then quickly started to pack her things. "Sorry, I have to go."

"Excuse me?" Chloe hissed, "Go where exactly? We're not done here!"

Lila's phone chimed and she looked at the read out. "Oh, me too!"

"Are you really both just going to just abandon poor Adrienkins and me with this entire project!?" Chloe demanded. Then she looked at him. "On second thought, both of you can leave."

"Why don't I come with you?" Adrien jumped to his feet. He closed his books and shoved them into his bag as quickly as Marinette had.

Much to his horror, Lila pressed herself against his chest, "Oh that's so sweet, Adrien! We're going to help Alya. She needs me to summon Ladybug for her."

"Ugh." Chloe rolled her eyes and packed up her own things.

"Good luck." Marinette nodded to Lila. She shouldered her bag, while typing into her phone. She finished it with a phone call. "Luka? I wanted to tell you I'm on my way to you, and I've already done something I think will help."

"Wait, Alya is working with Juleka and Alix right!?" Adrien demanded, edging back from Chloe and Lila. He sprinted around the table to Marinette, earning himself a glare from the school librarian. "They aren't on the Liberty with Luka right now, are they?"

"Uh, Luka, are Alya and the others with you?" She sighed at his response and nodded to Adrien. "They are, but Luka's asking us to hurry. Kim's in a lot of trouble."

"Okay, tell him we'll be right there!" Adrien grabbed her arm.

Marinette stiffened at his touch, but didn't shrug him off, and with the way he clung to her, neither Chloe, nor Lila could take his other arm. Which was perfectly fine with him.

Marinette lead them out of the school and down to the subway which Chloe balked at, but in the end, it was that or be left behind. They got off three stops later and found the Liberty docking in the Seine as close as it could get to the subway entrance. Juleka seemed to be working on its ropes, and Alya and Nino slid the gangway into place, so the four of them could come aboard.

Luka hurried out of the bridge to meet them. "Marinette, Adrien, I hope you weren't waiting for us long."

"No." Marinette shook her head at him, "Did you move the Liberty to meet us?"

"It seemed like the fastest way to you." He nodded. "Mom's not onboard, but she'll forgive me for moving it without telling her first."

"Uh, are you supposed to be Luka?" Chloe looked him up and down. "Because your hair is _not_ pink."

"No, it's not." He paused, frowning at her. Then raised his eyes to Marinette, "Although, for the right song, I could be persuaded to change it."

Adrien stepped between them, "You called us here for a reason?"

"Mmm!" Kim drew their attention to him. He sat in the middle of everyone, occasionally sucking at something in his mouth.

"He ate an akuma." Alya told them.

"He did _what_!?" Marinette shrieked.

"Technically, he still hasn't swallowed it yet." Max cut in.

Adrien couldn't restrain his disbelief and admiration, "I don't know if that is the smartest or dumbest idea that anyone's ever had."

"Right?" Nino adjusted his cap. He turned to Lila, "But now, we need Ladybug."

"Please tell us it will take you a while to summon her." Alix snickered. 'Because, honestly? This is the quietest he's ever been."

"Hmm!" Kim snorted, glaring at her.

Marinette showed Luka something on her phone. He nodded, smiling. They shuffled down the gangway, quietly maneuvering around their friends. No one seemed to notice but Adrien. They were all too focused on Lila and Kim.

"Well!?" Chloe demanded, "Summon her already so we can get off this ridiculous boat!"

"Not that anyone actually invited you." Juleka muttered.

"Uh, well?" Lila looked around at the group, "Honestly, I can try, but Ladybug has been pretty angry with me lately."

"What?" Alya shook her head, "Why?"

"It's pretty horrible of her, but we both fell for the same guy, but he likes me better." Lila admitted. "I'll still do my best to call her and let her know it's an emergency, but I don't know if she'll come given how jealous she's been lately."

"Seriously, Lila?" Adrien snapped. Although, it wasn't as sharp as it could have been given that he was pretty sure he knew who Lila liked and that meant Ladybug might just like him too.

"Dude, I didn't think Ladybug was that petty." Nino shook his head.

"Do you think she'll answer one of us, if we call her?" Ivan asked.

"Kmm!" Kim nodded.

We've got to try something!" Max cried, putting a hand on Kim's shoulder.

"Max, we will. Calm down." Alya frowned. "Kim, more seriously, how are you doing?"

"Mm-hm-mm." Kim shrugged.

"Right, Lila. You need you to tell us how you summon Ladybug. I know you said she doesn't want you to share it, but we need her. Surely, she'll understand that this is an emergency."

"Alya, I really can't!"

"Here, I'll do it!" Chloe took a deep breath. Folding one arm over her head and the other in front of her, she began to hop in a circle on one foot. "Lay-dee-bug. Lay-dee-bug. Lay-dee-bug."

Her classmates stared at her. Kim reacted first. Clapping a hand over his mouth so he didn't accidentally spit out the akuma, he snorted with laughter. The others soon followed, even Adrien.

Chloe whirled on a giggling Lila. "Tell them that this is how you do it!"

"Do what exactly?" Asked a voice from above them.

Everyone had been laughing so hard, they'd missed Ladybug's approach. She stood on the roof of the bridge, Luka in her arms, her yo-yo latched to the Liberty's sign. She released Luka and snapped her wrist to withdraw her weapon.

When no one answered her, she shrugged and jumped down to the deck. "Kim, this boy told me that you caught an akuma?"

Kim nodded.

"Alright, I can't believe I'm saying this to anyone who isn't Cat Noir, but," Ladybug sighed. "Spit it out."

Kim spit the akuma onto the deck of the Liberty. The poor thing was so covered in spit, it couldn't seem to move. Ladybug winced, but purified it.

"Alright. So, that's that. Good job, everyone. Especially you, Kim, and uh," She turned back toward Luka, "Luka?"

He slid off the roof to join her and the others. "Thanks, but it was actually Marinette's doing. She posted the alert on the Ladyblog and then suggested we separate to see if one of us could find you and lead you back to Liberty."

"Oh." Ladybug flushed a little, "Well then, thank her for me too, please."

"I will." He smiled.

As soon as Ladybug left, the others looked around guiltily. Finally, Alya sighed, "You know, I forgot we set up a Ladybug alert on the Ladyblog."

"Me too." A few of her friends chorused back to her.

"Wait a minute. So, did your stupid, little dance work or not?" Chloe rounded on Lila again.

"Well, she showed up, didn't she?" Lila shrugged.

Several of her friends looked like they wanted to object, but instead ended up trading puzzled looks. Adrien sighed heavily. He didn't want Lila akumatized a third time for being called out on her lies, so he kept quiet, but he also looked around to see if anyone else actually doubted her. Only Luka still frowned in disbelief.

Then, looking up, the older boy smiled and waved. Adrien turned to see Marinette on the shore line, waving back and somehow, his stomach clenched a little more.

**End.**


End file.
